Pastoral Staff

Pastor Sam joined the CCCNJ community in 2024 after being called to serve as the English Congregation pastor. Prior to this, Sam had pastored at two other churches in New Jersey for 16 years. Before his call into ministry, he worked in the mental health field, counseling and rehabilitating adjudicated adolescents.

Pastor Sam received his Master of Divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary with an emphasis in Biblical Counseling in 2013. He had developed a passion for counseling while majoring in Psychology at Rutgers University. His passion is to see the Gospel bring about godly, holistic transformation despite the challenges of the modern world. He believes intentional edification is one of the church’s greatest needs and believes this is a gift with which God has equipped him.

Sam was born and raised in central Jersey, and in 2021 he and his wife Christine and daughter Ari moved to Parsippany. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with family, eating good food, traveling, and tries not to get worse at golf.

Pastor Joseph has served at CCCNJ for over 4 years as an assistant pastor working with the youth and young adult ministry. He was recently ordained in November of 2023 and has continued to serve faithfully in the pulpit and different fellowship groups. Prior to that, he served as an intern and volunteer for 4 years with youth, college and young adult ministries in various churches in NYC and MA.

He received his Masters of Divinity from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in 2019, and his Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science from CUNY Hunter College in 2016. He is passionate about discipleship, counseling, and preaching to bridge the gap between culture and faith.

Pastor Joseph now lives in Jersey City with his wife Visalia, where they enjoy long walks around the neighborhood and sampling the many different cuisines that Jersey and NYC has to offer. He is also an avid basketball player and Netflix binger, always ready to ball at a moment's notice or catch up with the next hit show!

Sharon has been serving at CCCNJ as our Children’s Ministry Director since 2002. She has a BS degree in Christian Education from Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington.

Prior to her role as Children’s Ministry Director at CCCNJ, Sharon was a stay-at-home mom raising her two young children. During that time, she organized Vacation Bible School, taught children's Friday Night program and Chinese School at CCCNJ.

Sharon enjoys walking in nature and swimming. She and her husband Steve have two grown children: Eileen and Jerry.

Sister Venus Zhang joined the CCCNJ family in January 2026 and leads the Children’s Ministry for the Mandarin congregation. Previously, she was involved in campus and children's ministry in Southern California and has taught Sunday school to children in churches in Shenzhen and Kentucky.

Venus earned her Bachelor of Engineering in Information Engineering from Harbin Engineering University in 2001. Following her call to ministry, she completed her Master of Divinity (M.Div.) at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2023. Even before her seminary training, Venus demonstrated a profound passion for leading small-group Bible studies. Today, she is firmly committed to a vision of ministry: nurturing the local body through care and discipleship while actively pursuing outward evangelism and missions.

In her spare time, Venus enjoys swimming, hiking, visiting museums and botanical gardens, or reading quietly in libraries. She is also interested in cross-cultural and interfaith conversations.

For many years, Sister Shanshan Li has been serving in early childhood education, language education, and children’s ministry through professional teaching and ministry involvement. She served as a head teacher at Avenues The World School New York City for thirteen years and has also taught in other educational programs, gaining extensive experience in international and multicultural learning environments. She holds New Jersey Certificates of Eligibility in PreK–3, K–12 Chinese, and Special Education.

She is committed to a student-centered approach, using structured curriculum, interactive games, project-based learning, and cultural activities to strengthen students’ language development and engagement, while nurturing appreciation for diverse cultures. She has extensive experience in family–school partnership, including parent communication, conferences, newsletters, and classroom involvement. She has also organized international and cultural exchange programs, hosting visiting Chinese artists and a Taiwanese music group for educational events and performances.

In church, Sister Li actively serves in Sunday School ministry and participates in gospel musical events. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in Teaching Chinese.